Additional Links

A look at Sept. 11 commemorations in U.S., abroad

Associated Press

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
President Barack Obama lowers his head during a moment of silence at the Pentagon on Wednesday, during a ceremony to mark the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

A look at events marking the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks:

NEW YORK CITY

In a sadly familiar ceremony, friends and relatives of World Trade Center attack victims gathered at the National Sept. 11 Memorial plaza to call out the names of the dead and read messages to lost loved ones.

A bell chimed to mark the moments when four hijacked jets crashed into the twin towers, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, and again to mark the moments when the two skyscrapers collapsed.

Several politicians attended, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former New York Gov. George Pataki, but none gave an address.

The ceremony also recognized victims of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

WASHINGTON

President Barack Obama held a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. on the White House’s South Lawn to mark the first attack in New York. He was joined by wife Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden. A bugler played taps.

Then, the president traveled to the Pentagon Sept. 11 memorial in Arlington, Va., where victims’ families, attack survivors and military officials laid a wreath and held a moment of silence at 9:37 a.m. to mark the moment that Flight 77 hit the building. Obama said, “Our hearts still ache for the futures snatched away, the lives that might have been.”

PENNSYLVANIA

More than 200 people gathered at the Flight 93 National Memorial to read the names of 40 passengers and crew killed when the airliner crashed into a field near the small town of Shanksville.

Recalling the passengers and crew who had fought the hijackers, U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell told the assembled families and spectators, “We never know when we’ll be called to lay down our lives for others.”

BOSTON

A wreath-laying ceremony in the city’s Public Garden was followed by a commemoration at the Statehouse, during which participants read the names of more than 200 attack victims with ties to Massachusetts.

During the ceremony, a civilian bravery award named after 9/11 flight attendant Madeline Amy Sweeney was given to Carlos Arredondo, a Boston Marathon spectator who assisted a man who lost both legs in the April 15 bombing.

LONDON

British princes William and Harry participated in a charity event organized by Cantor Fitzgerald, the brokerage firm that lost 658 employees in the World Trade Center collapse. The company and its affiliate BGC Partners are donating all of their Sept. 11 revenue to charity.

The princes, along with celebrities including Rod Stewart and actor Idris Elba, spent an hour working the phones on BGC’s London trading floor. The U.S. version of the event featured Julianne Moore, Billy Crystal and Brooklyn Nets coach Jason Kidd.

Enlarge AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden join members of the White House staff during a moment of silence to mark the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, on Wednesday on the South Lawn of the White House.

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden join members of the White House staff during a moment of silence to mark the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, on Wednesday on the South Lawn of the White House.

Comments

Notice about comments:

Aiken Standard is pleased to offer readers the enhanced ability to comment on stories. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point.

We do not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click the X that appears in the upper right corner when you hover over a comment. This will send the comment to Facebook for review. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website. Read our full terms and conditions.